A JOURNEY OF COURAGE AND COMPASSION; CANCER SURVIVORS, THEIR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS WALK WITH A MISSION.

Byline: Heesun Wee Daily News Staff Writer

They call themselves the ``divine walkers.''

Almost every weekend, about 30 strangers who've become friends - no, more like sisters - slip into athletic shoes and trek Los Angeles terrain. From the hot concrete of Sunset Boulevard to the green hills of Griffith Park, they've been there. And they usually attract attention.``People honk and wave. They ask what we're doing,'' said Elizabeth Morones, 28, of Sherman Oaks.It's no secret. They've been training - for one of the longest and most important walks of their lives.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, an estimated 2,400 people will participate in Avon's Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk, a 50-plus-mile journey from Santa Barbara to Malibu. Walkers, through sponsorships, will raise an estimated minimum of $1,700 each, with the money earmarked for nonprofit breast health programs nationwide.

Like the ``divine walkers,'' many participants have been training diligently for the long - and, for many, emotional - journey.

Every walker has a personal motivation, but almost all are committing to the event after fighting cancer themselves or seeing it take hold in their families or among their friends.

That's what makes Morones' experience eerily unique.

She committed to the walk a year ago, wanting to contribute to a worthwhile cause and help out a friend who also had registered. But in the middle of training for the long-distance walk, Morones learned her grandmother and aunt both have breast cancer.

And so, even before the first step of the coast-hugging journey has begun, the charity walk already is meeting one of its biggest goals: raising awareness.

It has helped one woman discover a critical bit of family medical history, spawned friendships among people who are living evidence that self-exams work, and created a clear presence - as the ``divine walkers'' have - of a united front determined to fight cancer.Passers-by who have been touched by cancer aren't shy about sharing their stories with the walking women.

``They'll say, `Oh. I'm a survivor.' And they open up and I feel like that's who I'm walking for. It's emotional ...

``Even thinking about it (the walk) gets me full of emotion,'' Morones said.

`How lucky you are that you get to live'

Who: Jeanette and Michael Brown, 41 and 40, respectively, of Calabasas

Cancer connection: Jeanette has undergone a double mastectomy and five reconstructive surgeries.

If you ever meet Jeanette Brown, she'll want to get one thing straight right away. Don't call her by her last name.

Brown sounds too masculine, she'll explain. And having survived a double mastectomy and five reconstructive surgeries in nine years, she clings to every bit of femininity she can.

The request may seem trivial but Jeanette certainly isn't. Breast cancer has done that much for her and more - given her a stronger sense of self that includes directness and an appreciation she's alive.

``When I was going through the radiation, I realized, `How lucky you are that you get to live.' You see the people that don't,'' said Jeanette, a wedding coordinator and manager of a florist shop. She's also the mother of three.

It's this feeling of luckiness and pride in other women who also have survived breast cancer that persuaded her to look up from a magazine advertisement for the walk in the spring and decide, then and there, to sign herself and her husband up for the walk.

Jeanette's battle with breast cancer began nearly a decade ago when, at 32, she accidentally discovered a pea-sized lump just left of her left breast. A physician dismissed the lump as a fibroid tumor.

But Jeanette, whose father died of cancer, had reservations about her positive diagnosis. Six months later, Jeanette's mother urged her to investigate the lump further.

She eventually had the cancerous lump removed. Six years later, cancer returned to the same spot. The double mastectomy and reconstructive surgeries followed.

Jeanette said she'll walk for herself and partially for women who lost their struggles with the disease. ``I've gotten two chances that most people don't get. Maybe it's a little bit of guilt I feel because I survived and a lot of people I know haven't,'' she explained.

Older and wiser, Jeanette has many lessons she wants to share - foremost, regular breast self-exams.

``It's so simple. Do it when you're bathing. Just make it a habit. There's nothing weird about it,'' she said.

Jeanette and Michael have prepared for the long walk along the picturesque route by exercising five days a week. She'll be the one dressed in exercise togs, carrying the big box of tissue.

``My husband knows I'm a real tough broad that breaks down really easily,'' Jeanette said.

One day at a time suddenly has been nine months'

Who: Sharon Roth, 33, of Sherman Oaks.

Cancer connection: Roth's mother died of pancreatic cancer.

Sharon Roth is a young woman, but she's always been aware of breast cancer. Her grandmother's sister died of breast cancer.

Despite her family's medical history, it wasn't enough to motivate her to improve her health through regular exercise or better eating habits. Excess weight has been a longtime struggle for Roth.

Then a year ago, her mother died of pancreatic cancer, and reality set in. No one is immune. Her mother had been a healthy woman, diligently attending aerobics classes.

``I can't predict whether or not I'll get cancer. But I can take measures to be fit,'' Roth said.

She faced up to her poor health habits and decided the time had come for change. Roth's transformation into a healthier, happier person has included training for the Avon fund-raiser. She walks at least four times a week, five to 14 miles at a time. She also occasionally takes a step aerobics class.

And she has joined Compulsive Eaters Anonymous, a support group whose meetings she dutifully attends three times a week.

``It was just one day at a time, and one day at a time suddenly has been nine months,'' she said.

Roth has dropped 60 pounds, along with improving her blood pressure, since she began exercising regularly in April. ``And I'm much more alert. I feel more serene.''

So when Roth begins the walk on Friday, it not only will be in memory of her late mother, but will also serve as a testament to Roth's personal turnaround.

And she'll be walking with a friend who lost his mother to breast cancer. He spotted the advertisement for the Avon walk in a magazine and registered himself and Roth.

``We both have had a lot of loss,'' Roth said. It seemed natural they join the walk together to fight a disease that has touched both of their lives, she explained.``This is what she would want for me,'' said Roth of her mother.

`My whole life would have changed'

Who: Aida Rodriguez, 40, of Woodland Hills.

Cancer connection: Aunt died of breast cancer, father died of colon cancer, and Rodriguez recently discovered a breast lump that turned out to be benign.

Staring at the possibility of death can change a person. It did for Aida Rodriguez.

In April, Rodriguez discovered a small lump in her breast and had it removed in a biopsy. Then the long wait over a weekend for test results began.

She mulled over her famiy history of cancer. Her father died of colon cancer seven years ago. Her aunt died of breast cancer 15 years ago.

Rodriguez's exams proved negative.Despite the good news, the experience scared and humbled her a bit.

``I realized how lucky I am. It could have been a different result. My whole

life would have changed,'' she said.

So when Rodriguez saw an advertisement for the Avon walk, it was an easy decision to make. ``I need to contribute, and this came around,'' she said. An avid walker for at least 20 years, she logs three to four miles, six days a week. She says she'll be prepared for the Avon course.

Rodriguez has other hopes for the walk,too.

She wants to send a message to Latinas that they're not immune to breast cancer and need to take precautions, including regular self-exams.

``In the Latina community, the culture the way it is, for them to do self-exams, they feel it's wrong,'' she explained. Too often women wait until they're in pain before seeking out a physician, she added.

In fact, Latinas are less likely than white or black women to get mammograms for breast cancer, partly because their doctors fail to recommend the X-ray test, according to a study on breast cancer and Latino women released in 1991.

Fear of cancer, general anxiety and concern about costs were other factors that influenced Latino women to shy away from mammograms, according to the study by the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine.

Rodriguez is determined to change those attitudes. She hopes the Avon walk will send a message to all women - and men - that early detection and education remain the best ammunition against breast cancer.

THE FACTS

Event: Avon's Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk.

What: An estimated 2,400 people will walk 50-plus miles from Santa Barbara to Malibu.

Goal: Each walker is expected to raise at least $1,700, and net proceeds will be awarded to nonprofit breast health programs nationwide.

When: Oct. 23-25.

Information: Although registration for walkers has closed, there are opportunities to volunteer, make a pledge or simply cheer on walkers. Call Avon at [phone].

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos, Map

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) AN EMOTIONAL JOURNEY

(2) Maybe it's a little bit of guilt I feel because I survived and a lot of people I know haven't,'' says Jeanette Brown. She and husband Michael will take part in next weekend's Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk.

Tina Gerson/Daily News

(3--4) Jeanette and Michael Brown

(5) Sharon Roth

(6) Aida Rodriguez

Map: AVON'S BREAST CANCER 3-DAY WALK

Dionisio Munoz/Daily News